To Do: Start a Club!

So many people have emailed me over the last few months about how to start their own Ladies Activity Club. How wonderful! I’ve answered them individually, but I’ll share some tips here for everyone else:

Step 1: Plan
Find someone to be a co-founder with you. Ideally, this is someone with a different set of friends. I started the SF LAC with my sister. Between the two of you, find six or more enthusiastic women to invite. You should host the first party, your co-founder should host the second and you should should line up a few more hostesses to get things rolling.

As for rules, there aren’t many. I recommend that hostesses try to keep their costs below $5 a guest. And we usually avoid activities where people have to shell out a lot of their own money. We’ve done wine tasting, pumpkin carving, bowling, board games, painting, charity, poker lessons, etc. No hostess gifts allowed and no dues. The parties should be on the same day of the week at the same time (we meet Tuesday at 7:00) each month for consistency.

Step 2: Launch
Host your first party! Explain the concept to your guests. Encourage them to bring guests to the next party and sign up to host in the future. Enjoy! A lot of the hard work is done.

Step 3: Grow
Keep inviting new people to join and encouraging people to bring their friends! There is a little bit of organization involved in keeping the club going. I recommend managing your rsvp’s with evite and using a spreadsheet to keep track of your hosts. Line up a new hostess as soon the last month’s party has passed. Momentum is key!

Each time a new person hosts their first party, have a mini round of applause at the end for them becoming a “full member” of the club. It’s kind of cheesy, but nice. When you get to one year, have a big party to celebrate!

There will be months that are harder to get together than others, but it’s always worth it in the end. The parties are so much fun and it is such a great way to meet new people. If you start a LAC club in your area, let me know. I want to hear all about it!